Question 1

Dr. Thigpen continued to use his original scale to measure his patients' weights even though it no longer gave an accurate reading. Despite its inaccuracy, the scale did consistently give the same wrong weight each time a patient stepped on it. In this case, his scale lacks:

Accepted Answer

A)  sensitivity. 
B)  reliability. 
C)  validity. 
D)  sensitivity, reliability, and validity.

Question 2

Dr. Tomero asks his graduate students to code his interview tapes for the appearance of micro-expressions. If one of his graduate students believes that she sees disgust, while another rates the same micro-expression as sadness, which type of error should Dr. Tomero be concerned with?

Accepted Answer

A)  random error 
B)  social desirability error 
C)  observer bias 
D)  demand characteristics

Question 3

(Scenario III) A self-report measure was used to assess religiosity. A major advantage of self-report methods is:

Accepted Answer

A)  they are easy to administer. 
B)  they are inexpensive and efficient. 
C)  that information is obtained directly from the source. 
D)  All of the above are advantages of self-report measures.

Question 4

In which behavioral measure does a participant make a purposeful selection from several options?

Accepted Answer

A)  behavioral trace 
B)  physiological measure 
C)  behavioral choice 
D)  behavioral observation

Question 5

School uniforms are designed to _____ the learning environment and have been shown to increase academic performance.

Accepted Answer

A)  confuse 
B)  frustrate 
C)  standardize 
D)  humanize

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT an experimental design?

Accepted Answer

A)  survey research 
B)  two-group research design 
C)  repeated-measures 
D)  mixed designs

Question 7

Nonresponse bias is:

Accepted Answer

A)  when participants choose responses that are socially acceptable. 
B)  an outside influence that affects the true score in consistent ways. 
C)  a potential systematic difference between those who refuse to participate and those who choose to participate. 
D)  when participants are aware of the research question and change their response as a result.

Question 8

Which of the following study variables would NOT be appropriately addressed by using a self-report measure?

Accepted Answer

A)  perceptions of a political candidate 
B)  feelings of love 
C)  memories 
D)  eye blink response

Question 9

(Scenario III) Suppose Ken, a participant of this study, is a homosexual atheist who is not out of the closet. Understanding the culture of the university he is at, when asked about his sexual orientation he says he is a heterosexual Christian. The results of Ken's responses on the survey will likely produce:

Accepted Answer

A)  raw scores. 
B)  true scores. 
C)  bias. 
D)  random error.

Question 10

(Scenario I) The monthly surveys mothers completed required them to answer questions about the quality of their child's sleep during the past 30 days. Which of the following issues may have affected the mothers' responses?

Accepted Answer

A)  social desirability bias 
B)  retrospective bias 
C)  demand characteristics 
D)  participant reactivity

Question 11

Two main types of measurement are:

Accepted Answer

A)  self-report and quasi-experimental. 
B)  quasi-experimental and self-report. 
C)  behavioral and quasi-experimental. 
D)  self-report and behavioral.

Question 12

Viola hypothesizes that individuals who become police officers are more aggressive than people who choose other professions. A representative sample for her study would be:

Accepted Answer

A)  all police officers. 
B)  female police officers. 
C)  police officers that she knows. 
D)  a variety of police officers with different demographic backgrounds and from different locations.

Question 13

Which is the correct order of steps in the research process?

Accepted Answer

A)  select a research design, obtain results, share findings 
B)  obtain results, share findings, select a research design 
C)  share findings, select a research design, obtain results 
D)  select a research design, share findings, obtain results

Question 14

Random sampling ensures that the sample is _____ the population.

Accepted Answer

A)  representative of 
B)  more diverse than 
C)  less biased than 
D)  larger than

Question 15

Everett set his alarm clock 20 minutes later than the real time. Everett believes this will help him be more punctual in arriving at work. Everett's thinking highlights which type of error?

Accepted Answer

A)  random error 
B)  bias 
C)  social desirability error 
D)  demand characteristics

Question 16

Nolan is running a research study in which current participants are asked to recruit their friends for participation. What type of sampling is he using?

Accepted Answer

A)  cluster random sampling 
B)  simple random sampling 
C)  convenience sampling 
D)  snowball sampling

Question 17

A reliable measure is like a _____ friend.

Accepted Answer

A)  funny 
B)  interesting 
C)  intelligent 
D)  dependable

Question 18

Micah developed a psychological measure intended to assess a person's level of conscientiousness. However, after several pilot studies of the psychological measure it appears that the measure actually assesses a person's level of obsessiveness. Micah's conscientiousness measure would best be described as:

Accepted Answer

A)  not reliable for the intended purpose. 
B)  not valid for the intended purpose. 
C)  reliable for the intended purpose. 
D)  valid for the intended purpose.

Question 19

_____ is any extraneous influence that affects the true score in a consistent way, whereas _____ is variation from the measure's true score due to unsystematic or chance factors.

Accepted Answer

A)  Random error; systematic error 
B)  Raw score; random error 
C)  Systematic error; random error 
D)  Random error; raw score

Question 20

Standardization leads to _____ error, and scorer bias leads to ____ error.

Accepted Answer

A)  less; less 
B)  less; more 
C)  more; less 
D)  more; more

Exam 4: The Psychologists Toolbox: Tools for Building Better Designs